


Your Eyes Look Like Coming Home

by ariquitecontrary (ItsAriyanna)



Series: Soulmate Series [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Hate to Love, Oblivious Betty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 09:34:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11010741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAriyanna/pseuds/ariquitecontrary
Summary: People spend their whole lives waiting until the day they can see the world in color; the day they finally meet their soulmate. Sometimes it takes years, decades, nearly lifetimes until you meet that one special person.Unless, of course, you're Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones who have both seen the world in color since they met each other when they were two years old. Everyone always says that they're so lucky to have met when they were so young, that they have their whole lives to be together and in love. There's just one teeny tiny problem.Betty and Jughead hate each other.





	Your Eyes Look Like Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I cannot take full credit for this one! I got the idea from @jandjsalmon over on Tumblr and let me just tell you, I AM GLAD. I've never done a soulmate fic before and this was so much fun to write. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Betty Cooper has hated Jughead Jones for as long as she’s known him. This is both annoying and unfortunate. Annoying because she’s known him since she was two years old and now that she’s eighteen well, it’s been a long sixteen years. It’s unfortunate because out of all the people in the world, all seven billion of them, Jughead Jones is her soulmate. 

Of course she wasn’t aware of this when she first met him when she was two. At the time it kind of went down like this. Betty was at daycare. Her older sister, Polly, was off somewhere chasing some boy like four year olds did, and Betty was sitting by herself, coloring a piece of paper. Although “coloring” probably wasn’t the best word to use, because she couldn’t actually see any of the colors on the paper. Some colors just looked a bit darker than others and that’s what she went off of. She was minding her own business when suddenly a harsh pain ripped through her scalp as her hair was tugged back. She let out a loud wail and erupted into tears. 

A boy behind her laughed but she didn’t pay attention to him. She kept on crying until one of the young daycare workers came running over. 

“Oh dear, what happened here?” She asked as she pulled Betty into her arms. Betty just continued crying, but decided that she would not let this menace of a boy get away with what he had done. So she turned around and pointed at him with her chubby little finger and that’s when everything changed. 

It’s a weird feeling, meeting your soulmate. Not because you get butterflies or the world suddenly makes sense, no; it’s a weird feeling because it’s like someone suddenly turns on the light in what was a dark room and then everything makes sense and you can finally see. 

She sees that the boy has dark hair and eyes that match. She notices that the walls of the daycare are a bright shade of something that’s both warm and cold at the same time. She looks down at her paper that she had been coloring and she’s shocked to see that for once it isn’t in shades of grey and black, there’s more colors there. 

She isn’t crying anymore. 

“Elizabeth?” The daycare worker questions, sounding scared. 

Betty just turns and looks at her, staring into her eyes that match the walls and smiles. “Pretty eyes.” 

The worker looks confused for a moment before her eyes widen and everything clicks. She looks between Betty and the mean boy before letting out a groan. 

“Oh dear.” 

 

So that’s how it starts. Jughead Jones is a rude, insufferable boy when she first meets him and then she finds out that not only is he probably the first boy to ever make her cry, he’s also her soulmate. Her mother loves to tell her just how lucky she is to have found her soulmate so young, but Betty doesn’t agree. 

She didn’t feel so lucky when Jughead pulled her pigtails or when he made fun of her because she was the shortest girl in the third grade. She didn’t feel lucky when she met Archie Andrews, the cutest boy in the fourth grade, only to find out that he still couldn’t see in color while she obviously could. She didn’t feel lucky when she was forced to go to eighth grade homecoming with Jughead, while he just sat and decided to brood in the corner. She didn’t feel lucky when she shared her first kiss with Archie when she was fourteen, only to have him tell her that it shouldn’t have happened because they weren’t soulmates. None of it made her feel lucky and therefore she decided she hated Jughead. 

Jughead feels the same way though, it’s obvious from the way he goes out of his way to make sure that she’s uncomfortable to the way he ignores her at any kind of function that requires them to go as dates. If she hates Jughead then Jughead absolutely loathes her. 

She thinks she must be the most unlucky girl in the world. The percentage of soulmates who don’t fall in love with their intended pair is less than 2%, but there are some people out there and of course Betty would be one of them. She wonders if she’ll ever actually find love. There are rare reports of people who marry someone who isn’t their soulmate, but with Betty’s luck her husband would end up finding his soulmate halfway through their marriage and leave her for dead. It was a chance she was willing to take though. She had yearned to find love and for years she had thought that maybe she could find that with Archie. Until Veronica Lodge came into town and then suddenly Archie never shut up about her beautiful dark eyes. 

Betty wanted to hate Veronica for stealing Archie away from her and then she realized that Archie was never really hers. Jughead was hers and there was no return address anywhere on him. He was like an itch that never went away. Everywhere she went, he was right there behind her. That was about to change though. It was senior year and with graduation soon approaching, she was set to leave for NYU, far away from Riverdale and Jughead Jones. She never asked Jughead where he applied, but she didn’t really care either way.

“Betty!” 

She’s torn from her thoughts by the voice of Veronica Lodge. Somehow, despite her feelings for Archie, Veronica became her best friend. It was a weird friendship, and it shouldn’t have worked, but for some reason it did. As Betty looks at her now, she can see why she would be Archie’s soulmate. Veronica is beautiful and not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. She might be one of the most genuine people Betty has ever met. 

“Sorry. What were we talking about?” 

“Prom!” Veronica yells out, exasperated. “You’re going.” 

“Actually, I was thinking of just staying in.” Besides the fact that she isn’t really one for school dances (or dances at all), she doesn’t have a date. She can’t say that though, because the obvious answer is sitting right in front of her with his signature beanie and frown on his face. 

“Oh, yes you are. Prom is a rite of passage. It’s something you only get to experience once and with college coming soon…” Veronica trails off, pouting and giving Betty her puppy dog eyes but Betty just rolls her eyes back. 

“Ronnie, you literally got into NYU with me and Archie’s going to Juilliard. We’ll still be in the same city.” It wasn’t like they had planned it although yes, they definitely had. It was that Juilliard had an amazing music program that Archie got into and NYU had been Betty and Veronica’s dream for years. They would still all be together, except for Jughead of course. God knows where he had applied to; if he had even applied at all. 

“Irrelevant!” Veronica says with a wave of her hand, although she’s smiling now. “That’s college and this is high school. We need to live our high school days out while we can and this is one of the most important milestones.” 

“Jughead’s going,” Archie says nonchalantly. Betty wonders why the hell she’s supposed to care at all when it hits her. 

Jughead is going to prom. Broody, “I hate the world, everyone sucks” Jughead was going to prom. 

“Excuse me?” Betty ask, finally looking over to Jughead, who’s chewing on a fry. “You’re going to prom?” 

He shrugs. “Yeah, why not?” 

There’s a million reasons why not, but Betty just says the first thing that comes to her mind. 

“Who the hell would go with you?” She doesn’t mean for it to come out so mean, she’s being sincere in her confusion, but from the way the table gets quiet she knows that she must have sounded like a bitch. Thankfully, Jughead doesn’t seem to care, or maybe he’s used to it, so he just rolls his eyes. 

“Some of us don’t care about having dates, Elizabeth.” Betty grinds her teeth together at the use of her full name. “I don’t need a date to have fun with my friends.” 

“You? Have fun?” Betty laughs. “That’s the biggest joke.”

“Betty,” Veronica hisses as she elbows her in the side, signaling her to stop. Veronica’s never understood why Betty and Jughead don’t get along, but how could she? She met perfect Archie when she was sixteen and the two have been in love ever since. She was lucky.

“Whatever,” she grunts out. “I’ll go, but I need a date.” 

“You literally have—,” Betty glares at Veronica, daring her to finish the sentence. Her best friend must get the message and just rolls her eyes. “I don’t see why you won’t just go stag.” 

She’s about to explain just how uncool it is to go stag, when a throat clears behind them. They all turn around to see Chuck Clayton smirking down at Betty. 

“You know,” he says easily, “if you need a date to prom, I’d be more than willing.” 

Betty just sneers at him. Chuck is easily the sleaziest guy in school and she wouldn’t be caught dead on a date with him. 

“Back off, pig,” she replies. Chuck just smiles though. 

“Seriously, Betty. I’m sure we could have a lot of fun.” 

“She said back off.” 

It’s Jughead that speaks up, voice icy and eyes hard as he glares at Chuck. For all that she hates him, Jughead has always had her back when it came to guys harassing her. It was one of the few things he was good for. 

“It must suck,” Chuck says with fake sympathy, “to have a soulmate who doesn’t even want you.” Jughead’s face turns red and Betty sees the way his fingers dig into the table. It’s something he does when he’s trying to hold in his anger. “Tell me, what’s it like to know that your soulmate hates you so much that she won’t even take your worthless ass to prom?” 

Everything happens in slow motion after that. Jughead goes from sitting across the table, to having Chuck pinned down against the floor, fists pummeling him repeatedly. Veronica is shouting and Archie’s trying to pull Jughead away, but it’s like he’s possessed. Chuck grabs Jughead’s fists and rolls them over so that he’s on top of Jughead, punching the dark haired boy with a force so hard that Betty’s not sure how Jughead doesn’t pass out. 

She’s not even aware that she’s screaming and crying, she’s not aware of anything really. She doesn’t even think before she grabs her lunch tray and hits Chuck over the back of the head with it. 

“Get off of him!” She yells out, a cold feeling waving through her as she stares at Jughead whose face is bloody and swollen. Her stunt with the lunch tray didn’t do much damage, but it’s enough to startle Chuck who yells out and turns on her. It looks like he’s about to start pummeling her but before he can, Principal Weatherbee comes storming into the cafeteria. 

“My office! NOW!” He shouts to a pissed off Chuck. He looks over to Jughead who is conscious but in bad shape. “Can you get him to the nurse?” Betty nods and with the help of Archie, the two guide him down to the nurse's office. Once they get there, the nurse immediately takes them in and sits Jughead down on one of the beds. 

“You can go,” Betty whispers to Archie. “I’ll stay here with him.” Archie looks unsure at first before nodding and walking out of the room quietly. 

It’s silent for a minute and Betty’s staring at the ground for a while before Jughead finally talks. 

“You’re crying,” he croaks out and his hand moves over to Betty’s face as he places his hand on her cheek. It’s something she’s familiar with. Despite everything, Jughead’s always been there during her rough spots and he’s cheered her up more than once. 

“It’s nothing,” she says, not wanting to worry him in his state. 

“I’m sorry.” Betty stares at him blankly, not sure what he’s apologizing for. “I shouldn’t have attacked Chuck like that especially since I know he can kick my ass. I just got so mad. The things he was saying and the way he talks and looks at you.” 

“How’s that?” She asks, referring to the way he said Chuck looked at her. 

“He looks at you like you’re a piece of meat,” Jughead seethes. “It’s not right. He shouldn’t look at you like that. He’s disrespectful.” 

Betty won’t argue with him there so she just nods along. Jughead’s hand is still on her cheek as he wipes away her tears and Betty places her own hand softly against his. 

“Prom could be nice,” Betty whispers, “with you.”

Jughead just snorts. “Don’t do me any favors, Bets.” 

It’s her nickname that gets her and she smiles as she squeezes his hand gently. He’s the only one who ever calls her that. 

“I’m serious. I mean, who else would I go with? Despite our feelings towards each other, we’re soulmates. It makes sense to go together.” 

Jughead’s frown deepens and he pulls his hand away as if Betty stung him. She’s about to ask him what’s wrong when the nurse comes in, yelling about boys being idiots and how she doesn’t get paid enough for this. Betty sits back in her chair and watches and waits as Jughead gets checked out. It’s about thirty minutes before he’s given the clear although the nurse does mention that he should probably go home. 

“Make sure he gets home alright,” she tells Betty, already aware of what they are to each other. “I’ll excuse you both from your classes and call your parents.” Jughead groans at the last part but a stern look from the nurse (and Betty) shuts him up. 

“I think you’re right,” he says a few minutes into their walk. Betty has her arm around his waist while his sits across her shoulders. It’s just to make sure he doesn’t fall over, she tells herself. “Prom could be fun with you. After all, we can’t break up the core four, right?” 

Betty laughs at the silly name that everyone calls them. At first they had just been the trio: Betty, Jughead, and Archie, but then Veronica came along and now they were deemed the core four. Four people who, despite everything, would forever be tied to one another. 

“No,” she whispers out, “I suppose not.” 

She doesn’t notice the way Jughead’s hand tightens around her. 

 

Prom comes by quickly. Granted, time always seems to pass by quickly since she spends it either doing homework or actively trying to dodge her parent’s never ending questions about the future (with Jughead), college (‘Have you heard where Jughead’s going?’), and everything else (‘When are you and Jughead going to make it official?’) For some unknown reason, her parents can’t seem to grasp the idea of her not loving or even wanting to be with Jughead. She’s told them time and time again that she sees him as just a friend, if that, but they don’t believe her. They think she’s just trying to be proper and wait until they’ve graduated high school or something ridiculous like that. 

“Have you and Jughead talked about college?” Her mom asks her the millionth time. She doesn’t know how many times she has to say no, before her parents finally understand that she couldn’t careless about where her soulmate has decided to spend the next four years. 

“No, mom,” she sighs out as she slips on her silver heels. 

“Honey, I think it’s time you’ve talked to him about it. You might be surprised—,” her mom is cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing and suddenly she forgets all out the college topic. “Oh, he’s here! Quick, hurry, I want to get a few pictures of you together before you leave.” 

Her mom practically skips down the stairs and Betty sighs as she picks up her purse and follows down after her. She keeps her eyes down the entire way and she doesn’t look up until she’s at the bottom of the stairs. Jughead is wearing a simple black tux with a red bowtie to match her dress. He looks sharp and Betty can’t lie, he also looks absolutely handsome. For all that he dresses like a slob, he sure knows how to clean up nicely. 

“Betty,” he greets, cheeks pink and a small smile on his face, “you look beautiful.” They’re words that she’s heard from him countless times when they’ve gone to affairs together. He’s just being polite and so she smiles back. 

“You look very handsome, Juggie.” 

Alice Cooper squeals with glee before pushing them together. “Okay, you two, picture time!” 

They spend the next twenty minutes taking pictures together and with her parents before they finally remind them that the dance started thirty minutes ago. Her mother finally lets them go, sobbing all the while to her dad who just rolls his eyes at his wife’s reaction.

As soon as they get outside, Betty’s eyes widen. There’s a limo parked in front of her house, a freaking limo. 

“Jughead, what the hell?” She gasps as he grabs onto her hand and leads her down the path to where the driver is holding the door open for her. 

“It’s your prom, Bets,” he says simply, as he trails into the limo next to her. “I wanted to make it special.” 

For some reason unknown to her, she suddenly feels like crying. She almost wishes that her and Jughead didn’t hate each other, because he could be a sweetheart when he wanted to.

“You know,” she says with a teasing smile, “you might want to be careful. People might start to think that you don’t actually hate me.” 

Jughead’s smile falters a little bit before he gives a shaky laugh. “Yeah. We wouldn’t want that.” 

They spend the rest of the drive playing around with all the cool things in the limo. Betty’s thrilled to see a minibar that’s stocked up and, ignoring a warning glance from Jughead, she opens a bottle of champagne. By the time they get to prom, Betty’s slightly tipsy and laughing at everything Jughead says. 

“B!” Is the first thing she hears as they enter the ballroom. Jughead has his arm placed protectively around her waist. Betty sees Veronica waving her over and she goes to run towards her, but Jughead pulls her right back to him. 

“Don’t leave my sight,” he orders out sharply. Any other time, Betty might have taken his words a little serious, but she’s tipsy so she just giggles and leans into his embrace. 

“Yes, sir.” Jughead’s hand tightens on her waist at her words, but Betty pays no mind. 

Eventually they reach Archie and Veronica, both who seem a little tipsy themselves. In fact, Jughead seems to be the only one who isn’t some type of drunk, but that most likely has to do with the fact that he never drinks due to personal issues that Betty understands. 

“You look so beautiful!” Veronica screeches as she pulls Betty in for a hug and away from Jughead. Jughead makes a noise that sounds like he’s less than pleased at this, but Betty ignores it. 

“So do you!” Betty returns. “I’m so glad you chose the blue dress, it looks so good!” 

They spend the next few minutes arguing which one of them looks better before Archie and Jughead sit them down at a table. 

“Isn’t this so fun?” Veronica asks with a smile. “I’m so glad you guys came together.”

“Me too!” Betty agrees, which earns a raised eyebrow from Archie and a look for Jughead. The four of them fall into easy conversation about everything and nothing. They talk about who will win king and queen, if it will be Cheryl and Jason Blossom. Those two were weird and it was rumored that they were each other’s soulmates which wasn’t unusual with twins in the platonic sense, but the Blossom twins were something else entirely. They talked about how Reggie Mantle had shown up with some girl who was at least twenty-two and Veronica was sure that she had seen her on a magazine cover before. They talked about Chuck, who had shown up alone, and Josie and the Pussycats, who were performing, and everything else there was to talk about. 

Archie turned over to his best friend. “So Jughead have you told—.” 

“Betty, let’s dance,” the dark haired boy gritted out, standing up quickly and sticking his hand out for hers. 

Betty looked at Archie in confusion before glancing at Jughead. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but she decided that it didn’t really matter. She grabbed Jughead’s hand and allowed him to lead her out onto the dancefloor. 

A pretty slow song was playing in the background and the two swayed back and forth to it. Jughead was an excellent dancer. Of course Betty already knew this, she had danced with him many times and it was always fun. He never stepped on her toes and it seemed as if their bodies were in sync with one another. Dancing with him was almost like an art form, it felt so right, like she was meant to dance with only him. He pulled her close to him and she laid her head on his chest. She wasn’t tipsy anymore and the more she sobered up, the more she realized just how much fun she was having here with Jughead. Maybe they’d never be in love, but they didn’t have to hate each other, did they? They could be friends. 

When the song finally ended, Jughead led her back to the table and pulled her chair out for her before sitting down next to her. After a few seconds, she felt something touch her thigh and she startled, looking down she was surprised to see Jughead’s hand resting on top of her thigh, protectively. 

She glanced over at his face to see what he was thinking, but his face remained indifferent. She wondered if he had even noticed what he had done. Probably not. She was about to say something, when she felt the vibration of her phone on the table. She looked down and once she saw Polly’s name light up the screen, she grinned. 

“It’s my sister,” she informed Jughead who had been looking at the phone with a frown. “I’ll just be a minute.” He nodded, pulled his hand away, and Betty stood up and walked over to the restrooms where it was a bit more quiet. 

“Polly!” She greeted as soon as she answered the call. 

“Betty! What are you doing? Where are you? It’s kind of loud.” 

“I’m at prom,” she answered loudly as she cupped her hand over the speaker. 

“Oh, you decided to go after all? I’m so glad! Are you having fun?” 

“Yeah, I am actually. I came with Jughead.” There’s a pause and she looks at the phone to make sure that Polly didn’t hang up. 

“Jughead?” Her sister finally says. “Really?”

“Yeah, he’s not so bad.” 

Polly hums. “He never was. It’s good that you two are getting along though. It’ll make NYU easier.” 

Betty’s about to agree before the words that Polly just said sink into her brain. 

“What?” She gasps out, chest feeling heavy and empty at the same time. 

“NYU,” Polly confirms easily. “Since you two are both going there next year this will make things easier. You don’t need to spend another four years fighting.” 

“Jughead’s going to NYU?” Betty asks, suddenly feeling dizzy. There’s no way she’s hearing this right. 

Polly pauses for a minute before she groans out. “Oh, my god, Betty… you didn’t know?” 

“How do you know?”

“Mom told me a few weeks ago. I thought you knew, Betty, I’m sorry.” 

“I gotta go.” She hangs up the phone, cutting off Polly before she can even say anything else. She places both of her palms against the sink and clenches it tightly, digging her nails into the porcelain. 

Jughead’s going to NYU. He’s going to New York. No. No. There’s no way. Polly must have heard her mom wrong, there’s no way. He can’t. 

Before she even really knows what she’s doing, she walks out of the restroom and straight to the table where her group is sitting. Archie and Veronica are laughing together at something and Jughead looks over at Betty once she reaches the table, he has a wide smile on his face, one that Betty doesn’t think has ever been directed towards her before, but it falls once he sees the look on her face. 

“Betty, what’s wrong?” 

“You’re going to NYU.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement, a cold one at that. Jughead freezes and Archie and Veronica stop laughing immediately and that’s when it hits her. “You’re going to NYU and everyone knew it but me.” 

“Betty…” Jughead pleads, standing up from his chair. “It’s not like that. I wasn’t sure at first.”

“But you’ve been sure for a while.” Jughead reaches out for her hand, but she yanks it away. “Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me ever again.” And then she turns and walks out of the room, making a beeline for the doors that will lead her outside. 

She thought that once she hit the fresh air, that she would feel better, but her head still feels just as dizzy and she still feels like she might throw up. 

“Betty!” 

She squeezes her eyes shut, willing to keep the anger at bay. Of course he’d follow her outside. He loved making her life hell. 

“NYU was supposed to be my safe place!” She yells out unexpectedly as she turns around and charges towards him. “I was supposed to get away from everyone! NYU was mine!”

“Everyone, huh?” Jughead spats out. “Or just me? You made it perfectly clear that you were excited Veronica and Archie would still be close by. I was the only one who didn’t fit into your equation.” 

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” she cries. “I’ve been tied to you for the past sixteen years! Everywhere I go, you’re there! What did you expect? You knew I wanted to get as far away from you as possible. I’ve always talked about how NYU was my dream, you knew this!” 

“Of course I knew that,” Jughead yelled back, but this time he doesn’t sound mad. He sounds broken. “I know that because I listen to you and if you had listened to me, you would have known that it’s been my dream school too. It’s where I’ve always wanted to go.” 

“No,” Betty says, confused, “you…” she trails off. She doesn’t know where Jughead wanted to go to school she realizes, she doesn’t know because she never cared enough to ask. 

“I applied to UCLA,” he says sadly. “I didn’t want to, but it was far away enough from you that I knew you’d be happy. It was between UCLA and NYU. I just got my letter from UCLA.”

“And?” Betty presses. 

“I got in.” 

It’s a simple statement. One that should make her heart burst with joy; her short lived problem is now solved, but she doesn’t feel happy. She feels worse. 

“Jughead…” she whispers.

“I thought maybe these past few days would have changed the way you felt about me. I know you’re never going to love me, but I thought that at least we could be friends and then I could just go to NYU and it would be okay, but…” he trails off and runs a hand over his face. “You’ll never love me, I know, I’ve accepted that.” 

“Accepted it? Why would you need to accept that? You hate me just as much as I hate you.” 

Jughead laughs harshly. “For the smartest girl in our grade, you’re so dumb.”

“Hey!” 

“I love you, Betty.” 

And just like that the world stops turning. Betty can’t breathe.

“What?” She gasps out softly. 

“I’ve loved you since we turned thirteen and you held my hand after my mom left. I’ve loved you all these years, but I knew that you would never love me back. I watched as you fell in love with Archie and got your heart broken by him. I listened to you cry to me about how you kissed him and it was perfect and all your dreams came true only to have them ripped away right after. I listened to all of that and I never said a thing because I loved you and even if you couldn’t love me back, I still hoped that one day you would love and be loved by someone. I even hoped that maybe one day it could have been me.” 

Betty stares at him, eyes glistening with tears, not knowing what to say. There’s no way any of this is true. 

“But it’s okay,” Jughead says gently, voice cracking, “because I’m done. I’m done wishing for something that I know is impossible.” He clears his throat and gives her a smile that looks so fake, it hurts. 

“I’m going to UCLA,” he says. “I’m just… I’m done.” 

He doesn’t wait for her to say anything before leaving, but Betty decides that must be for the best because she doesn’t move for another twenty minutes.

 

“You know it makes sense,” Veronica says the next day as she reads through a magazine on Betty’s bed. “Your first feeling towards him was anger because he pulled your hair too hard when you guys were two years old. Then it was anger directed to fact that this kid who had just hurt you was also your soulmate. You projected your anger onto him and etched it into your mind that you hated him and then throughout the years you started to believe this narrative even more even though we all knew it wasn’t true.”

“How do you know that? I do hate him,” Betty ensures, but she doesn’t even sound believable to herself. 

“Oh, please,” Veronica snorts. “Remember when that girl Sabrina came down for summer? You were two seconds away from murder when you found out she liked Jughead and then you demanded he take you out to the movies instead of hanging out with her. He’s the first person you called when you found out you got into NYU. He went to all of the Bulldogs games and it wasn’t because he likes football, he went for you because you were a River Vixen. He’s also the one who held your hand while you waited for the cheerleading results. He’s the one who held you and listened to you cry when you thought your parents were getting a divorce. He spent hours staying up late to help you study for your SAT. He hacked into Mr. Wright’s computer and change your B to an A when you started freaking out over the Calculus final because you needed an A to keep your 4.0.”

“Wait, what? He did what?”

“Jughead is the other part of your soul,” Veronica says fiercely, ignoring her question , “whether you want him to be or not, but I think we both know that you do. It’s always been Jughead and it’ll always be Jughead.” 

Suddenly a million different feelings hit her at once. She thinks of how Jughead had kissed her cut and bandaged it up when she first fell off her bicycle. She thinks of how Jughead would always ask for her opinion on the smallest of decisions. She thinks of how Jughead had snuck out the night before her seventeenth birthday and got her her favorite type of cake, flowers, and a new diary she had been eyeing at the bookstore even though he had been grounded. She thought of how he had used the ladder to sneak into her room and stayed with her until midnight so he would be the first one to tell her happy birthday. All these memories and more hit her and before she knows it, tears are falling onto her cheeks. 

“Ronnie…” she whispers, staring at her friend like she’s seeing color for the first time and in a way, it’s kind of like she is. It’s been right in front of her all along and here she is, barely realizing it. 

“I know,” her best friend says with a small smile. 

And then Betty’s running down her stairs and out of her house. 

 

She stands in front of Jughead’s house for a while. She isn’t sure what to say or what to do. She doesn’t even know if Jughead will listen to her. 

With shaky hands and a racing heart, she knocks three times on the door. She places her hands behind her back and squeezes her fingers in anticipation. Four seconds feels like an eternity, but finally Jughead opens up the door. He looks surprised and unamused as he stares at her. His eyes are red and it looks like he didn’t sleep well the night before. Well, that makes two of them. 

“Betty—.”

“Come to NYU,” she says. It definitely wasn’t what she was expecting to say, but it’s somehow the thing she needed to say. 

“What? Betty, what the hell are you talking about?” 

“Come to NYU with me. I don’t understand this. I don’t really know what I’m feeling, but I know that I don’t hate you.” His eyes change from guarded to curious and Betty finally smiles. “I know you’re the only boy I’ve ever truly trusted. I know you’re the person I want to call when I’m at my lowest and when I’m at my highest. You’re the one that’s always been there for me and you’re always going to be there for me. You’re the only one I want to be there for me because you’re the only one who matters.” 

“I know that despite everything and despite all I’ve ever told you, you are my best friend, Jughead Jones. You’re my soulmate.” She finally says the words and for the first time, she feels a tiny burst of love flow through her at the word. 

“So come to NYU,” she pleads. “Let’s figure this out together.” 

“Together?” He questions, unsure.

“Together. Like we were always meant to be.” 

Jughead smiles with hope in his eyes and for the first time, everything makes sense.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to start taking prompts for this amazing pairing so guys, if you ever have something you want to see written, come talk to me on [tumblr](http://camelotskingz.tumblr.com), or if you ever just wanna talk, I'm always up for new friends! :)
> 
> Also I may or may not add a second part to this one based on their college life and how they're doing as a couple. Maybe if you guys are interested in that then I'll write it so let me know!


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